On Using Parents of Murdered Children

The president appeared at many rallies on behalf of additional gun control laws with parents of children murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

I have a question for those who agree with the president's use of these suffering souls.

How would you react if a pro-death penalty president travelled across the country with parents of murdered children -- on behalf of capital punishment? After all, outside of strongly liberal locales, the great majority of parents whose children have been murdered support the death penalty for murder. And more than a few of these parents who do live in liberal areas feel similarly.

I recall a phone call to my radio show from a woman who told me that she had always been against capital punishment and therefore always disagreed with me on this issue.

But she was calling to tell me that she had changed her mind.

"And why have you changed your mind?" I asked.

"Because my brother was recently murdered," she responded.

Needless to say, I offered the woman my most heartfelt condolences. To have a loved one murdered adds intense anger to already intense grief. So I truly commiserated with her.

But I didn't end there. I told her (gently) that it was sad that it took the murder of her brother to come to realize the cosmic injustice of allowing all murderers to live and that capital punishment is a moral imperative. Why, I asked her, hadn't the tens of thousands of other people's brothers who were murdered not moved to her to support capital punishment?

She sorrowfully agreed.

So then, what if President George W. Bush had toured the country on behalf of capital punishment with this woman and with dozens of others whose loved ones had been murdered? How would those who support President Obama's appearances with Sandy Hook parents have reacted to that?

We all know the answer. The news media and the Democratic politicians that enthusiastically approved of President Obama's multiple appearances with Sandy Hook parents (including flying with the president on Air Force One) would have vehemently protested against President Bush's appearing with parents of murdered children in support of capital punishment.

Nevertheless, I am not arguing that President Obama necessarily did something wrong or irresponsible in appearing with Sandy Hook parents.